As the New York Yankees weighed the possibility of trading for Jazz Chisholm Jr., they reached out to a couple of former Yankees who know Chisholm -- Derek Jeter and former pitcher CC Sabathia.
Jeter, who had traded for Chisholm while he was running the Miami Marlins, gave a thumbs-up, and Sabathia's support for the idea was enthusiastic (and laced with profanity). "Absolutely," Sabathia replied, according to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, though his version included a few extra syllables. Boone recalled Sabathia's marching orders: "Go get him."
Of course, how Chisholm handles the Bronx is still to be seen -- one of many of questions coming out of the trade deadline -- as swapped players settle in with their new teams. Here are some of the more notable questions after the trade deadline:
1. How will Chisholm play with the Yankees?
There is a formidable volume of stories about players going to the Yankees or New York Mets and struggling to cope with the intense expectations of the market -- from Joey Gallo and Sonny Gray to, back in the day, Ed Whitson and Kenny Rogers. Whenever the Yankees and Mets evaluate players for possible acquisition, this is one of the questions they address: How will this person handle New York?
Chisholm might be the rare player who is lifted by the experience of playing in New York, rather than defeated. Before the Yankees swapped for him, he'd mostly played in a cavernous, largely empty ballpark in Miami, and in his first games with New York -- in front of packed crowds in Boston and Philadelphia -- he resonated with joy and excitement, surrounded by stars such as Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole. He got off to a strong start, hitting four homers in his first three games.
There will be bad days along the way; there will be mistakes made at third base, a position he had never tried until four days ago. If he has a day of strikeouts in Yankee Stadium, he's going to be booed (in a ballpark where Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Judge have been booed). But Chisholm joined the Yankees seemingly ready to embrace the opportunity, eyes wide open, with the Yankees betting on his talent.
2. How will San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt deploy his stacked bullpen?
Robert Suarez has been the Padres' closer this year, following the departure of Josh Hader; he has a 1.48 ERA and 23 saves. Jason Adam, one of the relievers acquired by San Diego at the deadline, has a handful of saves on his résumé, too. Tanner Scott, the other elite arm added by Padres general manager A.J. Preller, has been an All-Star closer, piling up 18 saves this year and 51 in his career. The Padres' bullpen also includes Jeremiah Estrada, who has 64 strikeouts in 40⅔ innings, and lefty Adrian Morejon, who has been excellent.
Shildt could go a lot of different ways with this group, but it seems most likely that he will manage according to the matchups, rather than assign his relievers to particular innings. If the matchups are better for the Padres with Suarez working the eighth and Scott going in the ninth, that's how Shildt is expected to play it.
With so many off days in October, it has seemed possible for managers to succeed by riding a couple of starters and a group of hot relievers. Think of Cleveland in 2016, with Terry Francona wielding Andrew Miller, et al., all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. Think of the Texas Rangers last fall, after Josh Sborz and Jose Leclerc turned into relief monsters.
The depth and quality of the Padres' bullpen could make them incredibly dangerous in the postseason. (If they get there.)
3. Is Jack Flaherty healthy enough to help the Los Angeles Dodgers?
The Detroit Tigers and Yankees arranged a deal for Flaherty, but the Yankees reportedly killed the deal after their medical review raised concerns about the condition of the pitcher's back. (They did continue discussing options for a deal up to the deadline.) After Flaherty was traded to the Dodgers, he told reporters he felt fine -- and his performance this year has been better than fine, with an ERA of 2.95 in 18 starts and 133 strikeouts in 106⅔ innings.
Will he hold up? We'll see. By late October, we'll know if the Yankees' decision was prescient, or a well-considered choice that turned out to be a mistake.
4. Will Carson Kelly and reliever Andrew Chafin be enough for the Rangers?
Texas GM Chris Young told his players in late June that he didn't want to sell, that he believed in them, and that he would be more inclined to buy. While other teams had interest in the likes of Nathan Eovaldi, Kirby Yates and David Robertson, Young kept the group together and made modest additions in Kelly and Chafin. Manager Bruce Bochy shook up his lineup, shifting Marcus Semien into the No. 3 spot, and Young bet that the defending champions would start to play better as they continued to see the return of injured players such as Josh Jung, and, in the next month, Jacob deGrom.
Will Young's faith be rewarded? On the morning of July 30, the Rangers' chances for making the playoffs (per FanGraphs) stood at 12%. But they lost one-sided games against the Cardinals on Tuesday and Wednesday, falling to five games under .500. They're 4½ games behind the Astros and Mariners in the AL West, and the only avenue to the playoffs for the Rangers (and Houston and Seattle, for that matter) might be winning the division.
5. Where (or when) will Eloy Jimenez play for the Baltimore Orioles?
Of all the trades made, this one probably generated the most confusion in other front offices, because of Jimenez's struggles at the plate (an Adjusted OPS+ of 81, well below the average of 100), his history of injuries and the perception that he is a subpar defender. Additionally, the Orioles have a saturation of position players backed up in the minor leagues. Going into his debut with Baltimore, Jimenez hadn't hit for power (5 homers in 229 at-bats) or average (.240), or gotten on base (.297).
One source says the Orioles hope to unlock some of the talent that Jimenez has shown in the past. Through the last days of the deadline, other teams indicated that the Orioles wanted a right-handed hitter after they dealt Austin Hayes to the Phillies. Baltimore's plan, initially, is to use Jimenez as a designated hitter, while occasionally starting him in left field -- although probably not in games in Camden Yards, with the massive space generated by the changed dimensions of the outfield wall.
Jimenez was not in the starting lineup for Baltimore on Wednesday; he struck out as a pinch hitter on Thursday. The Orioles hold team options on Jimenez for 2025 and 2026.
6. Which Yusei Kikuchi will the Houston Astros get?
Evaluators have broad respect for Kikuchi's raw stuff -- a fastball that has averaged 95.6 mph this season, and a pitch mix that includes a slider, a curveball and a changeup. He has had moments of domination this season.
But as one evaluator noted, it always seems there's an inning when he cannot limit damage, which could be why he carried a 4.75 ERA before being traded by Toronto. The Astros need Kikuchi's stuff to translate more consistently.
7. Is Mark Leiter Jr. enough to patch the Yankees' bullpen?
Carlos Estevez was generally regarded as the best available reliever before the trade deadline, and Scott was viewed as the best left-hander. Leiter Jr. was somewhere down the list after that -- respected for how unflappable he can be on the mound, but not unhittable. He had a 4.21 ERA in 39 appearances with the Cubs
The Yankees started July perhaps more desperate than any other team to add bullpen help. What they found, however, was that teams were either not as enthusiastic about New York's prospects as they were about other clubs' minor leaguers, or were simply asking higher prices for the best relievers than the Yankees were willing to pay. Either way, the bullpen will remain an area of question for New York, which might have to hope that it can slug its way through some roster uncertainty.
8. Will Jorge Soler give up more runs than he generates?
The Atlanta Braves probably wouldn't have won the 2021 World Series without the power of Soler, and with Ronald Acuna Jr. out this season, Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos turned to Soler again, hoping that his strong performance over the past seven weeks carries on.
But every single one of Soler's starts with San Francisco this season was at designated hitter. As the Braves considered a possible Soler deal, they reflected on their experience with him in the outfield in '21 -- he was playable in their eyes, and they felt he was with the Marlins in '22 and '23, too. Maybe not a Gold Glover, but more than passable. Now their hope is that he has the potential to outhit any defensive liability.